1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electric heating, cutting or disintegrating and more particularly to devices for mounting a disintegrator to a support.
2. Background of the Invention
Various types of tool positioners which are adjustable about an axis have been known to the prior art. Such adjustable units have been used to position electrodes in disintegrators to enable welding current to burn away or disintegrate a broken drill or tap in a hole of a workpiece. In many cases a workpiece represents a substantial investment in both material and machining costs. It is therefore desirable to remove the broken drill or tap from such a partially completed workpiece.
In order to operate a disintegrator device it is imperative that the electrode be axially aligned relative to the hole containing the broken drill or tap. An adjustable locking unit between the support and the disintegrator head enables rotation of the disintegrator head to axially align the disintegrator electrode with the hole. There have been such devices in the prior art but none of them have completely satisfied the conditions of the disintegrator art. For example, in many applications the disintegrator head must be rotated about more than a single axis to properly position the disintegrator head relative to the workpiece. Many times it is desirable to have movement about two axes which are offset from one another. In addition, an adjustment mechanism is sometimes required to sustain the weight of the disintegrator head and orient the disintegrator head relative to the workpiece. A further requirement of the disintegrator art is to provide 360.degree. rotation for the disintegrator head. Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support wherein the disintegrator head is adjustable about three axes of rotation.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support having three axes of rotation wherein one of the axes is substantially perpendicular to and offset from the remaining axes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support wherein rotation about one axis is effected by a hinge like structure.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support which is easily adaptable to existing disintegrator housings.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unit for mounting a disintegrator head to a support which is economical and reliable.